Relearning his ABC's
by RGoodfellow64
Summary: Castle invites the team for a special party at the Old Haunt


Relearning his ABC's

by RGoodfellow64

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Disclaimer: As hard as it is to say, I do not own Castle, ABC or any of the characters associated with the show.

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As they got in the car Javier Esposito turned to his girlfriend and said, "Lanie, you didn't seem too surprised."

Lanie Parish leaned into the seat and buckled herself in before responding, "No Javi, I'm not. I saw this coming for a while now."

As they pulled out of the station garage he turned to her and said, "And you didn't think to tell me? I don't know if I should feel honored or beat the crap out of him."

"You don't want to hit him Javi; he thinks the world of you and Ryan. You're the only two people he asked you know."

As they reached a stop light he turned to her and said, "But Chica! Did you see the look on her face when he walked out? She had that same look when he walked out with that blonde three years ago!"

"Javi, three years ago they both messed up, neither one talking to the other and it turned out to be a mess. But this time? This time he did nothing wrong. Any hurt she has, she caused herself. This time _she_ messed up, not him."

As the light turned green and they started moving again he continued, "What? You really think that?" Becoming more agitated he said, "And he hid it from everybody! I got no idea how he did it, but it stayed out of the papers and no one had a clue till today!"

Putting her hand on his arm Lanie said quietly, "I knew Javi; I didn't know for sure it would go this way, but I had a pretty good idea."

He turned to her in surprise saying, "You knew? Why didn't you tell me?"

"Javi watch the road!"

When he turned his head back to the windshield she said, "Remember when my sister came up two months ago and we went out to that nice Italian place that Castle recommended?"

"Yeah, I remember you both telling me how great it was, private, out of the way and a fantastic place to eat."

"That's right. Private and out of the way…and Kimi and I saw them there that night."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because he asked me not to tell anyone; what they had to go through for a quiet evening out was ridiculous, but you could see that they really cared for each other, and they wanted to keep things private as long as they could."

"This doesn't make me like him more Lanie, he was cheating on Beckett."

"No Javi, he never cheated on her, I told you, this is not his fault."

They arrived at their destination and Javier looked for a parking space as Lanie continued to speak, "Javi, he looks at her the way he used to look at Kate. I saw, as they got lost in the moment in each other's eyes. It hurt to see that, but I was happy for him."

As he parked the car, he turned to her and said, "You were happy for him? What about Beckett? What about her?"

"Javi, after she got shot he told her that he loved her. She knew it. She told me she heard it but she was afraid of getting involved that way with him."

"But why? Everyone could see how much they cared for each other! I really thought it would happen when she dumped the doctor."

"Javi, let me ask you this, how many times when we went to the Old Haunt did Castle sit with us?"

"Every time."

"No Javi, not every time. Only the times that Kate didn't bring her newest boyfriend along."

"But Lanie, they didn't mean anything, they didn't last long, though I did like the Firefighter and the Jersey State cop seemed ok till we found out he was married."

Lanie was getting a bit upset at his not understanding, "Javier Esposito, how would you feel if we all went out for a drink and I brought along another guy?"

"Huh?"

"Tell me how you'd feel if you loved me, told me so and showed me every day, but I didn't acknowledge any of it?"

She could see he was starting to understand. "She went on two dates with Castle and then got scared, so she stopped seeing him and started going out with all those losers. Don't you remember that he always had to tend bar when her 'boyfriend' joined us?"

"Now that you mention it, yeah, he did." His face became lost in thought and he added, "I never realized before how many times his bartender had to leave for a family emergency and he had to take over."

"Samantha Relway is a wonderful woman, she's the youngest judge in the city, has a great reputation as being fair and even you told me she's the one the police want on the bench to try their cases."

"Yeah, you're right about that."

"She's been on the top ten eligible bachelorette list for the past twelve years, she's drop dead gorgeous and comes from New York High Society, but she is as down to earth and real as they come. I know because Kimi and I spent the evening sitting with them, and although I hurt that it didn't work out with Kate, he looked so happy that I just felt good for him…and them."

"You had dinner with them?"

"When he saw us he whispered in her ear and then waved us over. There was no hesitation on his part, he was proud to introduce me to her as his friend, and there were no awkward moments at all."

She paused and then said, "I hate to say it, but they do make a perfect couple, they truly compliment each other, and I found myself liking her despite not wanting to."

He grunted as she added, "And Alexis loves her."

"I didn't see any of this coming, not at all."

Lanie didn't say anything but she remembered two conversations. The first with Kate on why she stopped seeing Castle, _"Why? Kate you two are so perfect together! What's the problem?"_

"_Lanie, it's…it's complicated." _

_Glaring at her Lanie said, "Complicated? You're actually going to try and throw that one at me?"_

_Clasping her hands in front of her Kate said, "I'm afraid. I don't want to ruin our friendship and possibly lose him."_

"_And you think shoving other guys in his face is going to make him see that? Have you talked to him about how you feel?"_

_Kate shook her head no and Lanie said, "Kate, what's there to be afraid of? This is a man who treats you like a princess and sees you as the most desirable woman on the planet! He ran into a burning building for you, he paid a hundred grand just to help you find the guy who killed your mother, he kept you from freezing to death, beat the hell out of a professional hit man, and saved your life at Roy's funeral when he called your name and you moved away from the bullet! Do I need to say any more? And you're afraid this man is going to walk away?"_

_Shaking her head Lanie said, "Honey, he won't walk away, but you _can_ push him away, and if you're not careful, that's what you're going to do."_

"_It's complicated Lanie, just let it go."_

_Looking her in the eyes Lanie said, "No Kate, it's easy, _you_ make it complicated."_

Lanie recalled how Kate brought a new boyfriend to the Old Haunt that night after their talk and sighed. That was the night she finally pushed him away.

He had to tend bar as his bartender had to leave for another family emergency. Lanie later found out Castle would give him the night off with pay, just so he would have to stay at the bar.

Seeing Kate with her new boyfriend saddened her and she ended up drinking a little more than usual. Rather than calling for a drink she walked to the bar and watched Castle. He was watching their booth and had such a sad, quiet look on his face.

_Standing at the bar, she sighed and said,_ "_I can't figure it either Castle. Forget that PR crap that the press prints, you are a wonderful man, and a great friend."_

_Patting him on the hand she said, "I consider myself and Javi lucky to know you."_

_Rick smiled back at her, a sad smile, but a grateful one as well, and said the words that Lanie knew meant the fantasy was over, it was never going to happen, "It's funny Lanie, that at my age I had to relearn my ABC's."_

"_ABC's?" she asked._

_Sighing he said, "Yeah, Anybody But Castle. Not easy to accept, you know? But life is like that."_

_He handed her back her freshened drink and then turned to another customer at the other end of the bar as Lanie walked back to join the group._

Back in the present Lanie said, "Did you open your envelope?"

"No, after I saw the look on Beckett's face I wanted to throw it in the trash, but it's on my desk."

"Tomorrow you open it; I think there's a personal message in there for you, like there is for me."

"A personal message? What's it say?"

Lanie handed him the envelope and he took out the card. A beautiful wedding invitation with two hands clasped within a heart. He opened it and read,

_**Alexis Harper Castle**_

_**Cordially invites you to the wedding of**_

_**Her father**_

_**Richard Edgar Castle**_

_**To**_

_**Miss Samantha Jennifer Relway**_

_**On the Twelfth Day of October, Two Thousand and Thirteen**_

_**At our home in East Hampton, Long Island**_

Underneath the formal invitation was Castle's handwriting, _"Lanie, I could not imagine celebrating this day without my best friends there with me. You and Javier are also invited to stay and celebrate with us for the long weekend. I really hope you can, we have plenty of room. Rick."_

Putting away the invitation Javier said, "Wow Lanie, I don't know what to say."

"I know exactly what you'll say, you'll tell him you are honored to be his Best Man and raise a toast to him and Sam, Alexis made these specially for their friends."

Seeing the look on his face she said, "What? You called him your other partner, you've saved each others lives, he considers us his best friends, _real_ friends Javi, not just pretending to get at his money or be seen with him for fame. We treat him as a regular person, a friend and colleague, and don't think for a minute he doesn't appreciate that."

"I _am_ honored Lanie, I mean, we are a team, the four of us. It just seems so strange not to see him and Beckett together." Holding up the invitation he added, "This tells me there is no chance at all any more."

Lanie nodded her head yes with a sad expression on her face. "I know Javi. He came down to the morgue and handed me mine. He wanted me to have the first invitation since I was the first to know about him and Samantha. After I read it, I gave him a hug and wished him all the best and then came up to the bullpen with him where he handed out all the others."

She smiled sadly and continued, "I was watching Kate the whole time when she opened it and read it. You only turned around after she gasped in surprise, but I saw the whole thing."

"What did her invitation say?"

"I don't know, but the look on her face told me one thing," she answered.

"What's that?"

"She knows she lost it all. She could have had happiness, love, a family, a home, and she threw it all away because she was afraid. Too afraid even to talk about it."

"Damn."

"Yeah," Lanie replied, "I know."

Looking in the rear view mirror he said, "There's Ryan and Jenny, guess it's time to go in."

"Yeah, let's go. A private party for his friends and soon to be family at the Old Haunt, even Judge Markham will be there, since he's going to preside over the wedding and is a friend of them both."

As they gathered their things to leave the car he asked, "How do you know all this Lanie?"

"Castle is my friend too Javi, and after we met them and had dinner with them, I was the only person he could talk to, since it was a secret from almost everyone other than their families."

Getting out of the car she looked him in the eyes and said, "Javi, Castle deserves to be happy, and with Samantha he is. Tonight we won't feel sorry for Kate, we'll be happy for him. He's been a good friend Javi, let's let him know how much we appreciate him and wish them all the best."

After locking the car, he came around to Lanie and put his arm around her, "Ok Chica, he is my partner and I want them to be as happy as we are, or Ryan and Jenny."

Just then Ryan and Jenny came up to them and Ryan said, "Big changes happening bro."

Esposito nodded yes and said, "Yeah, let's go wish our partner and his fiancée all the best."

Ryan nodded his head and as they started down the stairs Esposito asked, "Will Beckett be here?"

Ryan shook his head no. "Don't think so, she headed out mumbling something about a previous date."

He looked at Esposito and they both knew it was a lie, but it was her decision. At the door, they heard the laughter coming from inside, stopped before opening it and looked at each other.

"He _is_ our partner too," Esposito said.

"Damn right," Ryan answered.

They bumped their fists and opened the door to join the happy couple.

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**AUTHORS NOTE: The idea for this came to me while I was finishing up chapter 14 of my story, Is Forever Possible. I have no idea why, in the midst of writing something warm and fuzzy, this came out, but it is where my muse wanted me to go…and I have learned it's a lost cause to argue with her. **


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